platinum997

Anyone know what the light kelvin is on the stock 997.2 daytime running lights in the front bumper. They look like ~5500 but hoping someone can confirm.

I replaced the amber side markers with clear and just used the stock bulb. It doesn't match and is driving me crazy.

platinum997

I got around to swapping out the side lights with some 5Ks. There very close to the front DRLs. Defiantly much better than the stock "white" bulb with the clears. The stock bulb is closer to 3500 is my guess.


Figured I would share in case this bothers anyone else. I went with canbus bulbs so I wouldn't need to wire in resisters or have fast flashing. Link below to the ones I used.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291419382992?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


The one on the left is the 5k and the one on the right is the stock bulb

St8haus

Looks great! Since those bulbs are P-N-P then that is the best way to go! I could not get any CANBUS LED to work without an error...weird

tritonic

Stock color temperature is probably 5000k. That's typical for "cool white" in automotive.

St8haus

Agreed...that seems to match up with our lights perfectly!! 5k pic

OKB

those strips are bright white, look for a led that says white. there are alot of new leds that are white, instead or the older xenon white with blueish tints (I think 5000 may be too blue)

platinum997

I thought pure white was 5k.. are you saying 4500 then?

Speak in kelvin which is an absolute, not subjective.

St8haus

I believe 4300 on the Kelvin scale is "pure white"...so between 4300 and 5k is the range for our bulbs to appear to match.

OKB

I wouldnt worry about the number, I would look for pure white or bright white. Ive bought alot of leds, and all are different color. The last ones I bought said xenon white and they were pure white. Most of the newer ones are more pure white

St8haus

Ummm, the Kelvin number is the temp which in turn is the color...so IMO the number is important.

Dennis C

Do white side markers ever cause trouble with the police? I thought they were required to be amber in most or all US states.

On another note, HID headlights change in color temperature and intensity as they age. Porsche OE HIDs are 4,300 K when new. After approximately 100 hours of use, the color temperature changes quite a bit from when they were new, and then it settles in and gradually decreases over their effective service life. Manufacturers typically recommend a 10 year service life for HID bulbs. I changed the 10+ year old bulbs on my 996 C4S and it made a huge difference in lighting performance.

I mention this because if you are trying to match the side markers to the headlights, it could impact you. If it matches today, it may not match in a few years.

OKB

what I say is; you get what you get, these are chinese parts, they arent exact. you may buy 5 prs before you get the color you want.
Ive heard some people say they have been stopped, but thats in states that dont have anything else for their police to do. its a dot regulation. ive been in 10 to 12 states

St8haus

From my understanding you are supposed to have amber side markers in the US...BUT since the front turns above the DRL's are amber, I think a cop would really be bored to pull you over for the side markers. I have had "clear" bulbs in the OEM clear housing for 2 years with no issues, although those do look yellow-ish, hence the reason for my change!

Understood on the LED's not being consistent, especially the "eBay specials" or the 10x bulbs for $4 deals I see. I order mine through a vendor that source their parts directly from manufacturers and thus get consistent temp readings/bulbs based on the K temps they advertise.